


Selling the Ocean to the Sea

by todxrxki



Category: Haikyuu!!
Genre: M/M, kenma is kind of terrifying but also gorgeous, kuroo and kenma are pirate captains, kuroo is just a mess but we love him
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-08-15
Updated: 2019-08-15
Packaged: 2020-09-01 12:07:01
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,415
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20257840
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/todxrxki/pseuds/todxrxki
Summary: Kuroo runs into him for the first time in a random bar in the port town of Nanohana, and his first thought is wow, he’s tiny.  Truthfully, he’s probably somewhere around average height, maybe the slightest bit smaller. He’s taller than Yaku, to be sure. But he’d expected a man with a nearly 100 million bounty to be bigger, somehow. More imposing. / Kuroo runs into the infamous pirate Kenma in a bar, and maybe they kind of hit it off. Pirate AU, for Kuroken Week Day 6.





	Selling the Ocean to the Sea

Kuroo runs into him for the first time in a random bar in the port town of Nanohana, and his first thought is  _ wow, he’s tiny.  _

Truthfully, he’s probably somewhere around average height, maybe the slightest bit smaller. He’s taller than Yaku, to be sure. But he’d expected a man with a nearly 100 million bounty to be bigger, somehow. More imposing. 

Kuroo watches as he leans back against the bar with a drink in his hand. None of the members of his infamous crew are around him. It’s just him, with his often fantasized about sharp golden eyes darting around to observe all of the people in the bar. Kuroo’s first instinct is to hide, not wanting to be subject to the intensity of his gaze, but he tells himself that this is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. He’s always admired this man, how he and his crew had singlehandedly brought the Navy to their knees, how his strategies had fooled even the highest ups in the Navy. Chances like these just don't come by every day.

So Kuroo slides up beside him, hoping that he looks as cool as he thinks he will, casually resting his elbows back on the bar. “Golden-Eyed Kenma,” he drawls. “Not exactly who I was hoping to see when I ventured out tonight.”

He’s not expecting someone like  _ him  _ to know who Kuroo is, so it comes as a shock when he says, “Just Kenma is fine,” and then, “And you’re Rooster Head Kuro.”

“It’s Kuroo, and I really hate that the Rooster Head thing has caught on,” Kuroo grits out, but his heart speeds up at the idea that someone like Golden-Eyed Kenma, a legend of the Grand Line, knows who he is. His own bounty is nearing 30 million berries, which to him is a huge accomplishment, but there are still tons of pirates with bounties higher than his. He's nowhere near Golden-Eyed Kenma's level. Never will be, he doesn't think.

“Right,” Kenma says. His voice, too, is quieter than Kuroo had expected; there’s no inherent power behind it. It’s not loud and commanding like the other legendary pirates Kuroo had heard speak. He meets Kuroo’s gaze, and Kuroo’s breath catches in his throat. “You know, people don’t usually come to this part of the island unless there is something in particular that they’re looking for.”

Golden-Eyed Kenma is beautiful, Kuroo thinks with a start. His eyes sparkle; his long hair frames his face perfectly; his tiny nose tilts up at the tip, and Kuroo thinks he’s never seen a pirate so gorgeous on the Grand Line before. He realizes that he’s probably staring and he clears his throat. “You caught me. There is, in fact, something that I’m looking for.”

_ And apparently someone,  _ he wants to add. Someone he didn’t even know he’d been looking for. But Kenma would probably kill him in cold blood if he said something as completely cliché as that. 

Kenma’s gaze is still on him, scrutinizing, looking as though he’s staring into the very depths of Kuroo’s soul. Kuroo wonders what he’ll find there.

“Tell me more,” Kenma says. 

Kuroo’s curious why someone like Kenma even cares about what he’s looking for, but it’s not like he’s complaining. After all, Kenma might be able to assist him with his current quest. He tilts his head slightly to the side. “I’m looking for allies for my current mission.” Kenma quirks up an eyebrow, as if to tell him to go on. “I’m from the island of Sundersay, not too far from the Grand Line. However, after the death of our fair and just king, the government sent one of their utterly useless Warlords to rule, as the king had no offspring. Since then, he’s become completely tyrannical. My allies on the island have requested my assistance, but as of yet, I think that with my relative inexperience, my crew and I would not be enough to bring him down on our own.”

“A good thing that you ran into me, then.” Kenma takes a sip of his drink, slowly, and then places it back on the bar. Kuroo’s heart speeds up infinitesimally, and he can feel his eyes widening in shock. Kenma rolls his eyes. “Don’t look so surprised. I have my fair share of experience with the Navy and their worthless Warlords. I wish nothing more than to have them all destroyed. Shameless traitors.”

There is no way that Kuroo, scoundrel of the seas, the man who’s caused devastation to more people’s lives than he can count, deserves this sudden stroke of luck. He almost doesn’t speak so as not to break the illusion, but he can’t stop himself from asking, “Does that mean that you’ll join us?”

“We’ll see,” Kenma replies. His small hand takes hold of a single coin on the counter, and he flips into the air, the sound of the coin clashing down onto the counter the only sound between them as Kuroo holds his breath. It lands on heads. The corner of Kenma’s mouth turns up the slightest bit, the most emotion Kuroo’s seen from the man throughout the entire conversation. “But I would say the chances are fairly good.”

Kuroo can’t help the stupid smirk that breaks out on his face at that. “I’ll be looking forward to it,” he says lowly. “You would certainly be doing my people a great favor - a debt that I am certain we shall never be able to repay.” 

“I would not be doing it for you or your people,” Kenma states plainly. He certainly does not mince words, Kuroo thinks, and yet Kuroo finds that to be a truly admirable quality.

“Certainly, certainly,” Kuroo agrees. “And yet we would still be forever indebted to you.”

“I don’t want anyone to be indebted to me for such ridiculous reasons,” Kenma groans, and his nose crinkles up. It causes Kuroo to think the most outrageous thing ever, which is that Kenma, Golden-Eyed Kenma, Terror of the Grand Line, is incredibly adorable. “Perhaps I should rethink this alliance.”

“Never mind, then,” Kuroo says quickly. “We will not be indebted to you in the least. In fact, we will forget you ever took part in our mission, and I will ensure everyone knows better than to thank you.”

Kuroo would like to think that he sees a hint of mirth dancing in his eyes in response. Kenma blinks, though, and crosses his arms across his chest. It makes him seem a bit more intimidating. Kuroo hopes desperately that he hasn’t misread the situation and somehow landed his crew into an entire world of trouble, feuding with one of the most feared pirate crews of all. 

Instead, Kenma just shakes his head. “You’re a strange one, Rooster Head Kuro,” Kenma says. “I cannot read you.”

“Well, you will surely have time to get a read on me during our alliance,” Kuroo says, extending a hand towards him. “Oh, and if we are to be allies, I have to insist that you call me Kuroo. The Rooster Head part is unnecessary.”

“Kuro,” Kenma repeats, and it sounds so good falling from his lips that Kuroo cannot bear to correct him. He takes ahold of Kuroo’s hand. His skin feels soft against Kuroo’s, far from the rough image Kuroo had envisioned of him. “Allies it is, then.”

“Just so you know,” Kuroo can’t resist adding, “I do prefer to spend some time to get to know my allies on a more personal level. That is, if you are amenable.”

Kenma pauses for a second, then gives a slight nod, one that makes Kuroo’s heart practically explode at the sight. “I would say the chances of that are also high,” Kenma says. He glances to the other end of the bar, where a tall, silver-haired man is causing some sort of a ruckus with a tiny, red-haired man, and sighs. “Unfortunately, it seems that my crew cannot survive ten minutes without my supervision, but maybe we can meet here again tomorrow to discuss the particular conditions of our alliance.”

“Tomorrow,” Kuroo repeats, and it echoes like a promise. “See you tomorrow.”

Kenma bids him goodbye. Kuroo watches him go, his posture becoming more rigid as he goes to scold the redhead and the tall boy. His hand tingles from where it had been holding Kenma’s. 

Kuroo makes a mental note to discuss with Yaku the possibility of a pirate alliance marriage. It only seems practical, after all.

**Author's Note:**

> Yes, this is me writing about pirates because of One Piece, and yes it is set in the One Piece universe. I really love the idea of Kuroo and Kenma being bickering captains of two different crews for some reason. It's a bit short, but I hope you all enjoy! Maybe I'll write more in this universe at some point. Please leave a comment if you enjoyed!  
This is for Kuroken Week Day 6, "Fantasy."


End file.
